mandaat Chilean Craftsmanship

COLLAGE AS A DRIVER OF FREEDOM

"Only the fibre of creation can recreate its own lost life." Anais Nin

Merle Mandaat’s work is a collage in movement that seeks to convey fascination with different cultures that express themselves through the colour, textures and materials that give them life.

Mandaat was born in Holland and lived a nomadic childhood together with her parents and seven siblings. From ages 7 to 18, her life was a constant journey during which she passed through more than 15 countries and experienced all kinds of cultures. Today, her production reflects this primary experience that left a permanent mark on her.

From her earliest years, she was fascinated by creation and the infinite mix of things. Mandaat made her own clothes and had the freedom (almost a dream) to dress as she pleased. And this freedom led her to seek out her own style, which was nourished by everything she witnessed.

It was love that brought her to Chile and it was here that she found, almost by accident, this connection with the creative. Thus, almost without thinking, Mandaat entered the world of design, although always using an approach that was almost artisanal, where the production process plays a fundamental role in the creation.

Mandaat likes to experiment, always seeking a style from a place of comfort. Her creations are a ludic search, suggestive of the free and nomadic spirit that dominated her childhood.

My neighbourhood

(...) And every time I left I carried with me the image of my neighbourhood, which I’d show and leave behind in the cities of the world.

He was like a traveller who carries his neighbourhood with him. Or those transplanted trees that bear fruit only if they have their roots in the soil in which they were born and grew.

Benito Quintela Martin